This is my ninth annual annotated list of the Top 50, skipping two years ago because the BA provided that information then, so here again you can see who moved up and down, who was new to the list and who dropped off. So here is this year’s list again annotated with how they changed compared to last year.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev; #1 last ten years, no surprise
- MillerCoors; ditto for #2
- Pabst Brewing; ditto for #3
- D. G. Yuengling and Son; Same as last year
- Boston Beer Co.; Same as last year
- North American Breweries; Same as last year
- Sierra Nevada Brewing; Same as last year
- New Belgium Brewing; Same as last year
- Craft Brewers Alliance; Same as last year
- Lagunitas Brewing; Up 1 from #11 last year
- Gambrinus Company; Down 1 from #10 last year
- Bell’s Brewery; Same as last year
- Deschutes Brewery; Same as last year
- Minhas Craft Brewery; Up 2 from #16 last year
- Stone Brewing; Down 1 from #14 last year
- Sleeman Brewing; Down 1 from #15 last year
- Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits; Rocketed up 20 from #37 last year
- Brooklyn Brewery; Down 1 from #17 last year
- Firestone Walker Brewing; Up 3 from #22 last year
- Founders Brewing; Up 3 from #23 last year
- Oskar Blues Brewing; Jumped up 9 from #30
- Duvel Moortgat USA (Boulevard Brewing/Ommegang); Down 4 from #18 last year
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Down 4 from #19 last year
- Matt Brewing; Down 4 from #20 last year
- SweetWater Brewing; Down 1 from #24 last year
- Harpoon Brewery; Down 5 from #21 last year
- New Glarus Brewing; Down 2 from #25 last year
- Great Lakes Brewing; Up 1 from #29 last year
- Alaskan Brewing; Down 3 from #26 last year
- Abita Brewing; Down 3 from #27 last year
- Anchor Brewing; Down 3 from #28 last year
- Stevens Point Brewery; Same as last year
- Victory Brewing; Up 2 from #35 last year
- August Schell Brewing; Down 1 from #33 last year
- Long Trail Brewing; Down 1 from #36 last year
- Summit Brewing; Down 2 from #34 last year
- Shipyard Brewing; Down 6 from #31 last year
- Full Sail Brewing; Up 5 from #39 last year
- Odell Brewing; Up 1 from #40 last year
- Southern Tier Brewing; Up 1 from #41 last year
- Rogue Ales Brewery; Down 3 from #38 last year
- 21st Amendment Brewery; Jumped up 7 from 49 last year
- Ninkasi Brewing; Down 1 from #42 last year
- Flying Dog Brewery; Same as last year
- Narragansett Brewing; Not in Top 50 last year
- Pittsburgh Brewing (fka Iron City); Down 1 from #45 last year
- Left Hand Brewing; Up 1 from #48 last year
- Uinta Brewing; Down 2 from #46 last year
- Green Flash Brewing; Not in Top 50 last year
- Allagash Brewing; Same as last year
Not too much movement this year, except for a few small shufflings. The top is virtually unchanged, with only numbers 10 and 11 switching places. And apart from those two small changes, the top 13 were all the same as 2014. The biggest jump came from Ballast Point, which leapt up 20 spots, while Shipyard slipped the furthest, dropping six slots. Only two new breweries made the list; Green Flash Brewing and Narragansett Brewing. Off the list was World Brew/Winery Exchange, a California contract label brewer making private label beers for retailers, and Bear Republic Brewing.
If you want to see the previous annotated lists for comparison, here is 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.